Aurora Alderman Kifowit makes run for Illinois House seat official

By Stephanie Lulay slulay@stmedianetwork.com September 1, 2011 7:32PM The Link to the Beacon News Article Dated September 2, 2011
http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/news/elections/7410161-418/aurora-alderman-kifowit-makes-runfor-illinois-house-seat-official.html

AURORA Although she leaked the news last week, Alderman Stephanie Kifowit made her campaign for state representative official Thursday evening in front of about 30 friends and family at Basils Greek Dining in Aurora. Kifowit, alderman of Auroras 3rd Ward, is running for the Illinois House of Representatives in a newly created district on the citys East Side. Kifowit will run for the Democratic nomination in the 84th District, which includes most of the far East Side of Aurora. The district was added because of the huge population growth since the 2000 census. There is no incumbent living in the district. The creation of the new legislative district was Kifowits motivation to run for Illinois House now. Kifowit has been an alderman for eight years. The new district is part of my ward, and I thought it was a great opportunity for me, Kifowit said. If elected, Kifowit said she would focus on getting the states finances back in order. The reality is Illinois is on the brink of financial ruin. You cant sugarcoat that, she said. The number one component we need to (attract) jobs is financial stability. Kifowit said that on top of ensuring the state has a balanced budget, she said she would work to make sure Illinois is paying its bills to businesses, schools and non-profits on time.

If you do business with the state, youre supposed to get paid. Thats how it works, she said. Kifowit said her experience as a veteran makes her different than other politicians, and she would bring fresh ideas to the Illinois House. She served in the Marine Corps for four years. I believe I went to the greatest leadership academy in the world, she said of her time in the Marine Corps. Although the district is new, Kifowit said she is gearing up for a competitive race. She is the third person to express interest in the Democratic nomination. Alex Arroyo, former chairman of the Aurora Township Democrats, is planning to run. Former Aurora

aldermanic candidate Matt Harrington is considering a run.

No one is going to work harder on the campaign trail or for the constituency, she said. Kifowit has a bachelors degree in political science and masters degree in public administration, both from Northern Illinois University. She has lived in Aurora for 16 years. She ran for mayor of Aurora in 2010 and finished thirid.

AURORAS BEACON READERS COMMENTS LIST BELOW

josh300
10:34 PM on September 1, 2011 This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore josh300. Does this mean that unlike the mayorial election the alderman will have to leave Kane County and actually campaign in the Dupage and Kendall County portions of Aurora.

Name withheld dannyl

8:00 AM on September 2, 2011 This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore dannyl. Kifowit vows to clean up finances? Start with your 3rd Ward! Will someone please provide an itemization of Kifowits wasteful spending while with the 3rd Ward? Kifowit has never seen a liberal project that she won't waste money on.

kbsr309
10:32 AM on September 2, 2011 This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore kbsr309. Well first the earth cooled, then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big & fat, then the arabs came & they bought Mercedes Benzs, so now lets bash Stephanie Kifowit because is runing another office. Her third ward is just fine.

kbsr309
10:38 AM on September 2, 2011 This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore kbsr309. Poor Stephanie, she is not even runing for mayor, and they still keep bashing her. I guess some people have nothing better to do but complain.

josh300
7:07 PM on September 2, 2011 This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore josh300 But, can she represent a larger area than the 3d ward? When she ran for mayor, I asked her phone callers when she would be appearing in DuPage County part of Aurora. They said they knew of no appearances in DuPage. I asked them about her position on issues affecting the DuPage County portion of the city. They said they didn't know what her position was on those issues.

izzy
1:57 AM on September 3, 2011 This comment is hidden because you have chosen to ignore izzy. The third war dis in shamble and she used the Ward funds as a slush fund to buy votes. Instead of spending the ward funds on what they were suppose to be spent on; she allowed the infrastructure of her ward to crumble underneath the streets instead of having them repaired as she was suppose to and instead diverted the funds to buy up properties to reward minority business owners to shore up their votes and for parks that buy you even more votes. Instead of walking her ward and making sure the city was alerted to building code complaisance as she should she attended parties to drum up support for her campaign. I live in her ward and if you spoke up she had her cop buddy friends start harassing you. Kifowit is all about Kifowit.